Gewehr 88 Advice

[bob q]

I also own the only two unaltered Gew-88/05 rifles that I have ever seen . You should look at one of those before you make statements . Old PS did not even know about those at all .

[Eaglelord17]

As you can see this is a very heated topic of debate.

Unfortunately there is much misinformation floating around about these rifles, much of it published over the years. There is a lot of people who don't fully understand the marking and what they can mean. For example, many will say if it has the 's' marking it is safe for modern ammo. This is not however what it means, as it has nothing to do with bore size.

I don't 100% trust Paul Scarletta for the simple reason he has written books on the Gewehr 88 and Mannlicher rifles which I have noticed misinformation and things that a bit of experience will tell you is wrong (such as a improperly loaded M95 charger in his Mannlicher book). However I would also argue there isn't really a 100% correct book on the Gewehr 88 out there.

Bob my information isn't from you. I learned about the .32 Win Special bullets after slugging my barrel and learning the diameter followed by looking at the bullets available on the market. As to the chambers, they did occasionally ream them, but that is likely due to manufacturing tolerance difference in the late 19th century than anything else. The odds of finding one with a short chamber in 2020 would be very small, simply due to the amount of Gewehr 88s that went though the conversion process, and the fact very few would have required the slight reaming required to begin with.

C&Rsenal has a good series on the 88s and 88/05s which can give you a decent knowledge base for free if your interested in learning more.

[Singer B]

Went back to the store today and it had been sold. Now that I have more info, the next time I see one I can make an informed decision right then and there. By the way, the Scarlatta book looks pretty nice but I could only find one on sale online and it was $221. I'll keep looking for it at gun shows.

[Aragorn243]

My word, I didn't realize I had a gold bar sitting in my bookcase. So sorry about that.

Now I have to wrap it in something put it somewhere and never touch it again. Books can be crazy, especially gun books. It's not that old.

[Singer B]

My word, I didn't realize I had a gold bar sitting in my bookcase. So sorry about that.

Now I have to wrap it in something put it somewhere and never touch it again. Books can be crazy, especially gun books. It's not that old.

All good, I appreciate the help and if it is sold out and selling used for $200+, then it's got to be a good book!

[Badger]

I'm exhausted ...

Some folks still need to read about our Forum Etiquette policy they agreed to under our Terms of Service Agreement" they electronically signed when they joined.

Regards,
Doug